


Study Trips For Miss Potts

by AuroraCloud



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: BAMF Women, Gen, Season/Series 10, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 04:04:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13605144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraCloud/pseuds/AuroraCloud
Summary: Bill appreciates the Doctor taking her to visit awesome women for her education and emancipation. Nardole provides tea and ineffective disapproval of secret escapades.





	Study Trips For Miss Potts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ruuger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruuger/gifts).



”Boudicca!” Bill exclaimed and threw herself luxuriously on the most comfortable chair in the office. ”Now that’s an amazing woman!” She threw her jacket on the back of the chair, pushed her shoes off her feet, and wriggled her aching toes. Traipsing around with ancient Celts wasn’t exactly a pleasure stroll.

”I thought you might like her,” the Doctor said, with one of those carefree, goofy grins.

”She rules,” Bill stated. 

”Well, she is a queen. I didn’t expect her to be quite so taken with you as she was, though,” the Doctor said.

Bill only grinned at him in return. ”It was awesome,” she then said more solemnly. She didn’t only mean those few stolen moments at the back of Boudicca’s tent, and she knew that he knew. ”Thank you.”

At that moment, the door opened and Nardole entered the room with much clatter. ”What was awesome?” he asked from behind a tray bearing a massive teapot, cups, and a mound of biscuits on a plate. 

Bill looked quickly at the Doctor, who gave her a diminutive shake of the head. ”I had lessons with Bill about some of the powerful women in history.”

Nardole laid the tray on the desk. ”Tea and shortbread, just as you asked. Told you it would only take me nine minutes.” When he looked at Bill, he stopped to stare at her shoes. Her very muddy shoes. Which had not been muddy when she came in, obviously, since it was sunny and unexpectedly dry outside. His eyes narrowed, and he looked at the Doctor, mustering up as much of a glare as such a benign-looking person/cyborg/whatever could. ”You told her, or you _showed_ her?”

The Doctor seemed remarkably interested in selecting himself a teacup. Bill smiled her brightest smile at Nardole, who seemed less impressed than Boudicca.

”It’s really interesting how her shoes have gotten all muddy in five minutes of sitting in your office,” Nardole remarked.

Bill glanced down guiltily. The Celtic camps had been really muddy, it was true.

The Doctor grinned. ”Well, you know Bill. Is there anything she can’t do?” He spread his arms wide.

”I know _you_ , sir,” Nardole said disapprovingly, but poured tea for the Doctor nevertheless. ”Oh, you send Nardole out to get tea and shortbread, and meanwhile you whisk her away to goodness knows which century and planet when you’re supposed to stay here.” He went on to pour Bill a cup of tea as well.

”We did stay here,” Bill offered. Really, they hadn’t moved that much geographically. She took the teacup Nardole offered, and helped herself to a shortbread. Oh, she was famished. It had been a while since Boudicca’s supper.

The suspicious look Nardole gave her told her that he knew what kind of technicalities the Doctor was likely to teach her. She flashed him a grin.

”By the way, the Dean was asking after you,” Nardole said.

”The Dean?”

”Head of Faculty. Pompous person. Administration and speeches and such. You know?”

The Doctor reflected. ”Is this the one who likes sherbet lemons?” 

”Perhaps. She wants to discuss the curriculum with you.”

”The curriculum?” He tasted the word as though it was an exotic bit of food he wasn’t sure he liked.

”It’s that thing you don’t believe in,” Bill put in helpfully. ”In teaching.”

”Yes, I know. I just don’t know why she wants to discuss it with me.”

”I’m sure it’s just a formality,” Nardole said. ”A chance to have tea with you and be dazzled by your charm and intellect.”

”If I remember correctly, this one has a really fascinating Swiss clock in her office. Of course, it isn’t really a Swiss clock, but I don’t think she’s found out yet.” The Doctor smiled fondly, probably at the memory of whatever weird adventure this prompted him to think of. Bill would have to ask some time. ”Tell her I’ll be free tomorrow afternoon,” the Doctor said to Nardole.

Nardole looked relieved that no more resistance had been offered, and paddled off. Before disappearing from the office, he threw a suspicious glance at the two of them. 

”The shortbread is really good!” Bill called out. She didn’t want Nardole to feel too bad about them going off behind his back. He was quite sweet, in his way.

When the door closed, the Doctor snorted. ”He’d have much more fun if he just resigned himself to the inevitable.”

”Why is he demanding that you stay in one place?” Bill asked, hoping this time he’d be distracted and tell her. But once again, the Doctor didn’t answer her question. Instead he grabbed a few more shortbreads, and munched on while eyeing her speculatively. 

”Liked meeting Boudicca, huh?” he asked her once his mouth was empty. 

”I did.” She placed her teacup down, stood up, and looked at him, seeing her smile reflected back on his face. ”Thank you,” she said, heartfelt. ”You don’t know how much this means to me.”

”How could I not? I see the way you’re smiling now.” The fondness in his eyes made her feel warm inside, like she was enveloped in a big fluffy blanket or something.

”It’s just that… The history you teach is so different from the history I learned at school. There it was all white dudes making stuffy old decisions, and nobody else mattered, not women, not black people, not anybody who was different. But in reality there was so much more, there’s always been so much more, and when those white dudes say they’ve always been the ones who mattered the most, it’s just crap to keep people believing the lie. And when you take me to meet Boadicea, or like when we visited the Kingdom of Aksum and I _saw_ the Queen of Sheba, just imagine, she’s just a legend now, a few words that gets thrown around, and I’ve _seen_ her, and all those people. It’s just… it’s real, you know? And that makes it easier to hold my head high and keep fighting back against the intolerant arses.”

The Doctor had been listening to her with a thoughtful expression. Now he stepped to her and laid his hands on her shoulders. She realised his eyes looked suspiciously moist. ”You hold your head high, Bill Potts. There’s never a reason why you shouldn’t.”

She grinned, blinked a few times because she was not going to get all weepy, damn it, and she hugged him ferociously. ”Oh, you big old goofy heart, you’re amazing.”

He returned her embrace awkwardly, but she could tell he wasn’t too uncomfortable, really. After a moment he gently disentangled himself, and looked at her, his face lighting up with a mischievous smile. ”Tell you what, Miss Potts. I think our study trips won’t be complete unless you get a little glimpse of the future as well. What say you to one more outing before today’s session is complete?”

Bill grinned. ”Oh, I’m ready.” Never mind that her feet were weary, or that she had been up for more hours than she knew. She’d never not be ready when he had that look on his face. ”Just give me a moment to put my shoes back on.” 

”Come on,” he said, ”you could even meet her in your nightie and there’d be no problem. Trust me.”

”But not without my shoes,” she said and bent to tie her shoelaces. When she was done, she straightened and stood up, ready to go. But then her gaze fell on the remaining shortbreads, the half-filled teapot. ”Poor Nardole. We’re running out on him again.”

”Bill, it’s a time machine,” the Doctor said, almost patiently. ”The tea will still be warm when we get back.” He grabbed one more shortbread, then strode to the TARDIS and opened the door dramatically. ”Come on, Miss Potts. To crown your day of awesome ruling women, it’s time for you to meet a certain Liz Ten.”

Bill grinned, grabbed her jacket and ran to the TARDIS.


End file.
